Recorded Range: Ashy Silktassel is found in the southwest United States in: AZ, CA, NM, NV and UT. In Arizona it occurs mostly in the western half and southeast portions in the Madrean Sky Islands (Madrean pine-oak woodlands). Large populations in California, smaller populations in New Mexico, Nevada and Utah. This species is also found in Baja California and northern Mexico in Sonora, and Chihuahua.

An infusion of leaves of Garrya flavescens was taken for for gonorrhea, as a laxative and for stomachaches by southwestern Native Americans. See ethno-botanical uses at Native American Ethnobotany, University of Michigan, Dearborn.